World record ride for Nzer
New Zealand cyclist Ellesse Andrews claimed gold at the junior world track championships in Italy yesterday, posting a world record time in the qualifying of the women’s individual pursuit, before going on to finish the job in style.
Andrews, formerly of Wanaka but now based in Cambridge, took the Kiwis’ third medal of the event, and first gold, on the penultimate day of competition in Montichari.
The St Peter’s School student claimed bronze in the same event last year in Switzerland, while focusing on sprint racing, but, under the watchful eye of father Jon - a former Commonwealth Games medallist and Olympian and now the national junior coach - has fully transitioned to endurance, and this time went to the top of the podium, heading off two Italian riders.
Last year Andrews completed the 2km race in a time of 2min 22.690sec, but this year smashed the world record of 2:22.311 with a brilliant performance of 2:18.080 in the morning qualifying.
That qualified Andrews for the gold medal ride against Italian star Letizia Paternoster. The Kiwi took advantage of her speed to open a one-second advantage through the first kilometre and while the Italian pushed hard, Andrews held her off to win in 2:19.038, by a margin of 0.603 seconds.
It was Andrews’ second medal at the event, having also been part of the team pursuit which took silver, and was her fourth world championship medal overall, having won with Emma Cumming in the team sprint last year.
Andrews joins Gemma Dudley and Steph Mckenzie as the Kiwi females with the most medals won at the junior track champs, though her two golds sit her atop that list.
Rio Olympians Dylan Kennett and Regan Gough both won six world junior track medals, and Campbell Stewart five, with Stewart having claimed four rainbow jerseys and Sam Webster and Sarah Ulmer three.
Southland’s Nicole Shields finished fourth in the individual pursuit, while Southland’s Corbin Strong was fourth in the men’s omnium, Nelson’s Shaane Fulton finished seventh in the 500m time trial and Christchurch’s Kate Smith finished 10th in the 20km points race.
On Saturday morning, Palmerston North rider Libby Arbuckle finished seventh in the omnium, now under the new one-day, fourdiscipline event which is raced sparingly in New Zealand.
The 18 year old was in the mix throughout, finishing seventh in the 5km scratch race, eighth in the 5km tempo race, sixth in the elimination and fifth in the points race.
The event was dominated by Paternoster, who won two of the four disciplines.